Linux News for May 24, 2001

• LinuxProgramming: python-dev summary 2001-05-10 - 2001-05-24 (May 24, 2001, 21:57)
  "This is a summary of traffic on the python-dev mailing list between May 10 and May 24 (inclusive) 2001. It is intended to inform the wider Python community of ongoing developments."


• Borland Drops the Price on Kylix Desktop Developer (May 24, 2001, 20:44)
  Borland is running a promotion on the Kylix Desktop Developer edition that drops the price pretty substantially: from $999 to $199.


• CNET News.com: Companies fight over CD listings, leaving the public behind (May 24, 2001, 20:06)
  More on the Gracenote/Roxio lawsuit regarding the use of the CDDB database, which Gracenote owns. For those just joining the story, the issue with Gracenote's ownership of a database populated over the years by vounteers. Gracenote is currently involved in a lawsuit with Roxio over the latter's use of other online databases. This article gets into some background detail, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation's involvement and the fact Gracenot's suit could prevent other developers from moving to open source alternatives.


• Turbolinux Security Announcement: vixie-cron (May 24, 2001, 19:40)
  "When a parsing error occurs after a modification operation, crontab will fail to drop privileges correctly for subsequent modification operations."


• Alan Cox: Linux 2.4.4-ac16 (May 24, 2001, 19:14)
  "This merges some of the pending changes. In terms of going through the code audit almost all the sound drivers still need fixing to lock against format changes during a read/write. Poll creating and starting a buffer as write does and also mmap during write, write during an mmap."


• LinuxProgramming: KGesture: A KDE Gesture Recognition Project (May 24, 2001, 18:30)
  This is an interesting project: it brings gesture recognition to the K desktop. Initially we hoped that meant we could flap our hands around in front of the monitor to launch apps, but even if this is less cool than that, it's still cool.


• Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.2.2 Released (May 24, 2001, 17:47)
  "The FHS consists of a set of requirements and guidelines for file and directory placement under UNIX-like operating systems. The guidelines are intended to support interoperability of applications, system administration tools, development tools, and scripts as well as greater uniformity of documentation for these systems."


• Question of the Day: Automatically Setting Downloaded Executables +x? (May 24, 2001, 16:14)
  A few days ago Miguel de Icaza posed an interesting question on Nautilus-list centered around downloading executables from the net, which often don't have their execute bit set: "I would like to suggest that we set this bit manually if the user double clicks on a file that happens to have an a.out or ELF signature. Maybe we could popup a warning or something, but the result should be that files downloaded in this way would just work."


• Atipa Shuts Down EST: Company Seeks to Reopen Independently (May 24, 2001, 15:32)
  Last week Atipa closed the doors on EST and BRU. According to this letter, EST, which produces the BRU backup software, hopes to reopen independently. In the mean time, the company isn't taking orders and providing extended licenses to allow demo versions of BRU to operate through July 21.


• BULMA: Ext2, ReiserFS and XFS Benchmarks (May 24, 2001, 14:45)
  This set of benchmarks finds that there's no clear winner in every category, but maintains that with the added value of journaling thrown in, all provide a better "value" than ext2.


• Open Source Musician 'Void Main' Returns (May 24, 2001, 14:04)
  A few weeks ago we had a brief look at the music of Void Main, which is techno with a developer theme (song titles include "Kernel Calling," "Internal Compiler Error," and, of course, "Use the Source." Void Main's evidently been busy with a sampler down at the local zoo's penguin house...


• Software Development Online: Is Open Source for You? (May 24, 2001, 13:33)
  This is a reasonable introduction to open source software from someone who characterizes himself as a realist on the matter. There are a few mild swipes at "the zealots" but for the most part he's friendly to open source software, uses open source software, and offers a set of interesting guidelines for when it's good to go open source and when it's not.


• GNU Project Adds a GPL FAQ (May 24, 2001, 05:27)
  The GNU Project has created a GPL FAQ that explains a host of issues including some dealing with license compatibility, how to apply the GPL to a given program, how GPL'd code interacts with proprietary software, and whether it's possible to create proprietary software with GPL'd tools (which gets asked more than you'd think.)


• LinuxPlanet: .comment: If Not Now, When? (May 24, 2001, 04:29)
  Dennis E. Powell also takes exception to the notion that it's time write the Linux desktop's obituary. On the other hand, he offers up some points for why things aren't moving so fast: resistance to proprietary hardware support, and resistance to for-pay software among them. This week Dennis reminds us that the best technical solution doesn't always win, and the real task ahead for convincing people to make the switch to a Linux desktop lies in providing a truly compelling reason.


• osOpinion: Where Is the New Linux Experience? (May 24, 2001, 04:29)
  Hallmark called to offer us a bulk rate on "Linux Desktop Week" cards. This piece from osOpinion falls under the "optimistic but unhappy with the general direction" category of Linux-on-the-desktop prognostications: "Linux needs to be a different experience, not a familiar one with a better kernel. People understand that Linux is free in many ways compared to Windows, but they need more than the financial incentive to switch. They need a new place to work, and a new outlook on things. When this starts happening, Linux will begin to take its place on the desktop."


• Linux Weekly News: Interview with Ga�l Duval (May 24, 2001, 03:09)
  LWN conducted an interview with MandrakeSoft's Gaël Duval addressing some of the news from the last few days. Despite predictions of his company's imminent demise, Duval is optimistic, and LWN says "MandrakeSoft looks like it is in reasonably good shape."


• LinuxMedNews: Review: Linux vs. Windows 98 Scanning (May 24, 2001, 01:00)
  Saint of LinuxMedNews decided to do a side-by-side comparison of his scanner running under Windows and Linux and has posted a brief writeup.